Don’t you love to find leftovers in the refrigerator and turn them into tasty little bites? That’s what happened a few days after I made the sous-vide pork belly. There was a nice chunk of it I forgot all about hidden between a quart of milk, a head of lettuce, and some brioche dough from a prior failed experiment. My inner Indiana Jones encouraged me to dig deeper in that jungle so I also found some cabbage in urgent need of attention, some Dijon mustard and a little ramequin of maple syrup from breakfast. I don’t know about you but that sounds like lunch to me.

I know that not everyone has a 36 hours sous-vide pork belly in their refrigerator so you should check out this recipe I posted almost two years ago. It’s based on a David Chang technique that consist of curing it overnight and slow-roasting it. It’s delicious and would work great here as well.

I pan-fried the skin of the pork belly until crispy and grilled thick slices of it because it’s more fun that way, but you could simply roast it in the oven until really tender. The only thing that could stop you from eating this is your conscience. Just give it a day off and add pork belly sliders to your hibernation check list. It’s getting cold out there.

For the pork belly:

For the pickled cabbage:

Remove the tender leaves from the cabbage and steam until cooked but still a bit crunchy. Cool in ice water.

Whisk the maple syrup, the white wine vinegar and the olive oil in a bowl. Add the toasted coriander and mustard seeds. Drain the steamed cabbage and add to the pickling liquid. Refrigerate for at least an hour, or better overnight.

For the brioche buns:

In small bowl, whisk yeast into milk, then stir in 1 cup of flour. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.

Put butter, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with metal blade. Pulse, scraping sides of bowl several times, until mixture is soft and smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, and process after each addition until incorporated. Add remaining 1 1/4 cups flour and yeast/flour mixture, scraping sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pulse to form a soft, smooth dough. Then process continuously for 15 seconds. Turn the dough onto generously floured work surface and knead until smooth and elastic.

Preheat oven to 350’F.

Shape little buns on a floured surface and place on a baking tray lined with a silpat. Let the buns rise until doubled in volume (cover the tray loosely with buttered plastic wrap or a slightly wet towel). Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.

Here’s that drool-inducing photo again. Crispy, smooth pork deliciousness… I can’t keep up with all these beautiful recipes anymore! Keep them coming although I am waiting for a chocolate one soon 😉

http://www.ouichefnetwork.com Oui, Chef

Apparently Santa didn’t get my request for a sous vide supreme….dang it. I might have to go steal one so that I can start making all these great SV dishes you’ve created.

http://vanillasugarblog.com vanillasugarblog

good god frenchman!
sweet sarah and all that is fu**ing holy.
amazing. I didn’t read anything, just stared directly into the pork belly light..

http://twitter.com/MeatInc Aaron Black

Looks bad ass! SV? Nah but I’ll smoke a pork belly and use the left overs the same way! Nicely done!

Susanne Voros

These look amazing! I love pork belly but never know what to do with the leftovers once I’ve made it. YUM!

Tasteslikehome

Okay, I have to get a pork belly fix soon. Too much torture on this blog!

http://www.forkspoonnknife.com/ Asha@FSK

OMG! foodgasm!

http://betivanilla.blogspot.com/ beti

they sound quite exotic but they look fantastic!

http://apronappeal.com/ Apron Appeal

I can be a hero if I bring these to the Super Bowl Party. YOP! I’m going to do it!

http://junglefrog-cooking.com/ Simone

These just look absolutely to die for. I love pork belly in general but that photo just made it look so much more appetizing!

http://www.generationyfoodie.com/ Dara

These look incredible. Just the crispy skin alone! So gorgeous and so yummy looking.

http://watkinslynn.typepad.com/pages_pucks_and_pantry/ Mrs. L

I so must have these..like…NOW!

http://www.facebook.com/people/Peter-Minaki/560410552 Peter Minaki

Love that last shot with the sizzling pork belly…I’ll have trois!

Javelin Warrior

Thank you so much for sharing! As always, these sliders are amazing and I’ve been inspired to feature you yet again in my Friday Food Fetish roundup. If you have any objections, please let me know. Moar, moar, MOAR please

http://www.kitchenriffs.com/ kitchenriffs

Great recipe. I’ve only begun to work with pork belly in the last 2 years (bacon excepted, of course). Lovely meat. Thanks for including the link to your Chang-inspired slow roasting technique – your sous-vide recipes have made me really interested in this form of cooking, but realistically I’m not going to be picking up one of these nifty machines in the near future. (But keep them coming! I love reading them.) Great smoke on bottom photo; top photo is stunning.

Oh how I love pork belly! This looks phenomenal. I love those fridge discoveries! Of course, not everyones fridge is as gourmet as yours 😉 I’ll have to try that Chang recipe, it looks outstanding and like a great alternative to sous vide. Stunning, gorgeous, beautiful photos, as per usual. Happy new year!

Oh how I love pork belly! This looks phenomenal. I love those fridge discoveries! Of course, not everyones fridge is as gourmet as yours 😉 I’ll have to try that Chang recipe, it looks outstanding and like a great alternative to sous vide. Stunning, gorgeous, beautiful photos, as per usual. Happy new year!

Jean (Lemons and Anchovies)

Only you can make leftovers look this good. I have been craving pork belly and after seeing these sliders, the craving is even stronger.

Anonymous

Chocolate one coming soon!

Anonymous

Dang it! Maybe the letter to Santa didn’t make it to the North Pole in time. I hate when that happens!

Anonymous

I’d have some smoked pork belly!

Anonymous

Who is Sarah? And what does she have to do with pork belly?

Anonymous

No problem. Go for it!

Anonymous

You’ll be the hero, that day. Get ready for the spotlight.

Anonymous

Petahh, they only come in four, like at White Castle.

Anonymous

Thank you! I find myself shooting more and more on black acrylic. It’s addictive.

Anonymous

Yup, it’s a good recipe. Thank you, Katherine and Happy New Year!

Anonymous

Hi Jean. You just have to take care of that craving now. You know what to do.

Anonymous

Thank you Simone!

Anonymous

Thank you Dara!

Anonymous

You mean like… NOW?

Anonymous

What can I do? I’m evil!

Anonymous

That’s one way to look at it.

Anonymous

Thank you Beti!

Anonymous

Thank you Susanne!

Anonymous

Thanks Jay!

Kita

Just spotted these on photograzing and had to say they look amazing. Beautiful job – and mouthwatering description!

http://www.thebitesizedblog.com/ Jessica

These looks awesome, and gorgeous. Thanks for sharing!

Heather

Does this recipe make six sliders or more?Looking to possibly serve these to a crowd.

JimB

Made these for a get together this weekend. I did a 72 hour sous vide @144, put a lot of bacon fat in there with the pork belly, so it was more like a confit. Turned out great, people were fascinated with it, and were blown away by how good it was! Thanks for another great recipe!!